Bulk up or lose weight first?

G-Diddy20 · #1 10-15-2007, 01:23 PM

Little background. I was a twig in HS at 5'11", 165-170 lbs. I ballooned up freshman/sophomore year of college to 220 and then quickly realized it and got back down to 186 (i still have some excess fat around my midsection and thighs) where I am now as a junior in college. I have had some experience lifting weights, especially senior year of H.S. where I got to about 175 and was in the best shape of my life.

I now have myself a dilemma. I want to get in top physical shape and am willing to put the time in to get there. I have read that it is a good idea to set yourself a goal of bulking up (lifting, limit aerobic excercise, taking in X number of calories per day, splitting proteins/carbs/fats/, etc) or blasting fat (lots of aerobic excercise, take in less than x number of calories, lots of fiber/protein, etc.)I know how to approach each of these and dedicate myself to each approach, I'm just not sure which one I should start with. I plan on staying on each one for 3-4 months or until I'm happy, then switching over to the other one to hopefully acheive my peak physical shape when all is said and done.

Pros of starting the weightlifting/bulking phase first is that I already have some excess weight to throw around and turn into muscle. Pros of the doing the aerobic phase first is that I could get myself down in great physical shape (little body fat at least) and then hit the weights and know my exact destination of the weight i would want to get to weight lifting.

so, with that in mind, what does everyone recommend? thanks in advance...

G

POKEROMGLOL · #2 10-15-2007, 01:37 PM

i recommend doing whatever is harder for you first. For me, it is always harder to be skinny and is fairly easy to bulk up. I thought, from reading here and other places, that you could basically do both at the same time. It doesn't really work. I did a lot of lifting and have stayed the same and look bigger, but I still feel out of shape b/c I am not lean enough to have the look i want.

Therefore I am going to start on a pretty intense cardio based thing instead of focusing on lifts with cardio secondary.

I get the feeling that most of the people on this board are skinny twigs trying to get big.

theblackkeys · #3 10-15-2007, 01:50 PM

I'd cut first, because you will still be able to make consistent strength gains for quite a while. You are a beginner, us types make gains easily.

When you stop making consistent gains, you can add some more food to perhaps give your body a boost. It might help you with plateaus.

Edit: Just read the end of your post. Do weightlifting and cardio while you are cutting. I wouldn't wait, especially if you have the motivation now. Check out the sticky, it has some good program mentioned in it.

G-Diddy20 · #4 10-15-2007, 02:00 PM

I wouldn't say one is easier then the other. I definitly enjoy lifting weights more because it offers some variation everyday (as opposed to boring as hell 40 min treadmill workouts) and getting bigger is more rewarding to me than getting smaller. They are both very challenging which is not a bad thing as I enjoy challenging myself. Either way, I will be doing both so maybe it doesn't matter which comes first?

G

POKEROMGLOL · #5 10-15-2007, 02:03 PM

no, honestly it doesn't matter that much.

you sound like a candidate for HIIT( http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp ) + starting strength (all the crap in the sticky.)

Northern · #6 10-15-2007, 03:03 PM

As you said your a little out of shape and have some excess bodyfat. Your not bug so I wouldnt concern myself with cutting. Any good program and a surplus of calories will work wonders for you right now. With hardwork and a big diet (lots of food) you will see great gains.

I don't see much benefit of cutting as you'll be skinny wihtout a build. I don't know about anyone else but I don't want to look like a prepubescent boy with a 6 pack. Do a clean bulk for the next few months like you say and sart cutting in time for summer and you'll be beating the girls off with a stick.

To see the best gains you will have to do one or the other. Yes you can do both but your progress will be minimal and almost cancel each other out. Think of it like this you can cut and bulk at the same time but its like riding a bike and masturbating at the same time, you can do it but not well.

cbloom · #7 10-15-2007, 04:07 PM

You're only barely overweight. You should just do everything you can to add muscle and not care about the weight. I bet by the time you add some significant muscle you will be lean.